Femto cells—building-based wireless access points interfaced with a wired broadband network—are generally deployed to improve indoor wireless coverage and to offload a mobility radio access network (RAN) operated by a wireless network and service provider. Femto cells typically operate in licensed portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, and generally offer plug-and-play installation; e.g., automatic configuration of femto access point. Improved indoor coverage includes stronger signal and improved reception (e.g., voice or data), ease of session or call initiation, and session or call retention as well. Offloading a RAN reduces operational and transport costs for a service provider since a lesser number of end users utilizes over-the-air (OTA) radio resources (e.g., radio frequency bands and channels), which are typically limited.
Coverage of a femto cell, or femto access point (AP), is generally intended to be confined within the bounds of an indoor compound (e.g., a residential or commercial building) in order to mitigate interference among mobile stations covered by a macro cell and terminals covered by the femto AP. Additionally, confined coverage can reduce cross-talk among terminals serviced by disparate, neighboring femto cells as well. Femto cells typically operate in licensed portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, and generally offer plug-and-play installation; e.g., automatic configuration of femto AP subsequent to femto cell subscriber registration with a service provider. Coverage improvements via femto cells can also mitigate customer attrition as long as a favorable subscriber perception regarding voice coverage and other data services with substantive delay sensitivity, or otherwise, is attained. In addition, a richer variety of wireless voice and data services can be offered to customers via a femto cell since such service offerings do not rely primarily on mobility RAN resources.
To facilitate coverage confinement, femto AP power management is generally implemented via various measures and mechanisms (e.g., scan measurements of the macro-cell environment). However, with such mechanisms, which typically are legacy mechanisms, excessive femto AP power may promote unnecessary signaling activity from mobile stations that are unauthorized to be served by the femto AP and in neighboring homes and outdoor locations. As a result, end users within these neighboring homes and outdoor locations may experience reduced battery life and ensuing degraded service and perceived user experience.